Dedicated to the Business of Contemporary Live Music
A MAJOR Leeds venue has just got a little bit bigger, after increasing its standing capacity to 4,321. This means the First Direct Arena’s overall capacity for standing/seated shows is 13,781, an increase on the previous 13,500- maximum capacity. “Standing floor tickets for concerts at the Arena are always in…
Read moreENHANCED HOSPITALITY, the new management company of legendary north London venue Dingwalls in Camden, says it will renovate the 500-capacity venue and has engaged new music programmers. Opened in 1973, Dingwalls has hosted an array of acts in their emerging years, including Eric Clapton, The Sex Pistols, REM, Blondie, Foo…
Read moreLIVE UK sister publication Audience has been told that global venue giants AEG Facilities and SMG will have to wait for the conclusion of “regulatory reviews” and secure approval from consumer protection agency the US Federal Trade, before their 50/50 merger as ASM Global (see LIVE UK issue 229) can…
Read moreORGANISERS OF the BRIT Awards say the 20 February event, held at London’s The O2, broke several records across terrestrial and digital media. Overall, the event saw growth of 12 per cent in its follower numbers across all of its social accounts combined for @BRITs, up to 3.375 million from…
Read moreREGULATOR THE Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) announced on 5 March that it is to take legal action against Viagogo and has already asked a court to find the secondary ticketing platform in contempt. The announcement follows a long-running investigation by the CMA into the secondary ticketing market (see LIVE…
Read moreAS A £48.8 million renovation programme starts at Bristol’s 1,932-capacity Colston Hall (see LIVE UK 229), operator Bristol Music Trust (BMT) has announced the appointment of five new members to its board of trustees. Incoming chairman Simon Chapman will be joined on the board by Pat Connor, Tony Cherry, Craig…
Read moreVENUE CHAIN Academy Music Group (AMG) is now able to offer digital ticketing to promoters and artistes using its venues through its partnership with Ticketmaster (TM). Concert-goers will still be able to buy paper tickets and use print-at-home, but mobile is now available through TM’s ticket allocation. Promoters will still…
Read moreIRISH PROMOTER Peter Aiken of Aiken Promotions welcomes new legislation to outlaw the resale of concert and sports tickets at above face value in the Republic. Under the Prohibition of Above-Cost Ticket Touting Bill, it will become illegal to sell or advertise for sale any ticket to a music, sporting…
Read moreLONDON’S 1,145-capacity Scala is celebrating 20 years as a live music venue by putting on a night with ticket and drink prices set at 1999 rates. Artistes to have performed at the King’s Cross venue over the years include Coldplay, The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines and Slaves. “London is…
Read moreCOVENTRY CITY Council (CCC) is looking at new revenue streams for its annual Godiva Festival, after expenditure for last year’s event overran by £460,000, according to a financial report. The free-admission festival had a budget of £150,000 for its 20th anniversary year, but costs reached £610,000, an overspend of more…
Read moreAMBASSADOR THEATRE Group (ATG) says its increased focus on live music across its portfolio is embodied in the reopening of former music venue The Globe (cap. 3,000) in Stockton-on-Tees next spring. The Grade II listed art deco theatre opened in 1935 and was an ABC cinema before becoming a concert…
Read moreMUSIC MANAGERS Forum (MMF) has published an online guide designed to enable artistes and their managers to gain increased value and insight from fan data. The latest instalment of the MMF’s series of Dissecting The Digital Dollar reports, the Fan Data Guide outlines key data types artistes and their managers…
Read moreTHE WINNERS for this year’s Outstanding Attitude Awards have been announced by disabled and deaf access campaigner Attitude Is Everything (AIE). Among those who received Access Starts Online Awards are Deer Shed Festival (cap. 6,500) for Outdoor Event, The SSE Arena (10,800) in Belfast – Venue Over 500 Capacity and…
Read moreHELP MUSICIANS UK (HMUK) has launched a six-month research project into the needs of music creators and industry professionals in Wales. The charity, which has expanded its activities from supporting artistes in difficulty to people who work in the live music sector, says it wants input from anyone who has…
Read moreLONDON‘S 1,500 capacity Koko closed this month to enable a year-long £40 million refurbishment of the building. Koko owners The Mint Group said that when the venue reopens in spring next year it will offer six live performance spaces – including one at 1,500 capacity a radio station and broadcast…
Read moreMAGAZINE LONDON, a new 3,000-capacity venue close to The O2 (cap, 21,000) on the Greenwich Peninsula, will open in September. Operated by event management company Vibration Group, which manages London multi-use space Printworks (3,000), Magazine London was designed by architects Nissen Richards Studios with graphic designers Carter Studios. Situated on…
Read moreLONDON VENUE The Underworld (cap. 500) in Camden is abandoning paper tickets to go digital, as part of a deal struck with smart ticketing company DICE. One of the features of the DICE mobile app is a ticket exchange for sold-out shows, so ticket-holder who become unable to attend can…
Read moreA LAW firm that specialises in cyber crime is to take High Court action against Ticketmaster (TM), following the data breach at the company last June (see LIVE UK 222). Hayes Connor Solicitors says it has around 650 clients who were affected, of whom 63 per cent had experienced credit…
Read moreTHE VENUES division of multi-faceted global giant AEG – AEG Facilities – is merging with international arena and convention centre management company SMG to create the standalone venue management behemoth ASM Global. The deal will bring the UK’s two largest concert arenas, AEG’s The O2 (cap. 21,000) in London and…
Read moreECHOING THE vows of angry creditors of the failed Bestival (cap, 40,000) and Camp Bestival (25,000) events (see LIVE UK issue 227), companies owed money by last month’s collapse of the two Common People (30,000 each) festivals say they will do tougher deals with the festival sector in future. The…
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